Autism May Begin With Fetal Brain Flaws, Researchers Suggest
March 27, 2014
A team of researchers from the University of California at San Diego’s Autism Center of Excellence recently published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that analyzed brain cells of deceased children. They found that almost all of the children who had been diagnosed with autism were missing “key...
Autism diagnoses surge by 30 Percent in kids, CDC reports
March 27, 2014
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new prevalence data earlier today, indicating that 1 in every 68 American children is living with autism – a 30% increase from the 2012 estimate. Read the full story by Maggie Fox at Today.com and for more information, please refer the...
Rising Awareness May Explain Spike in Autism Diagnoses
March 24, 2014
A 16-year study that was recently published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders reviews trends in autism diagnoses from 1995-2010. The authors cite a large increases in the overall diagnosis rate and point to interesting variations based on gender, age, and other factors. Read the full story from Newswise and...
Kids’ Sleep, Ear Troubles May Point To Autism
March 20, 2014
University of Illinois researchers recently reported that children with an autism diagnoses were more likely to have sleep problems and chronic ear infections at 9 months than their typically-developing peers. For more information, see the article by Sean Heasley of Disability Scoop or view the full article from the Journal of Early...
Strategies for Teaching Common Core to Teens With Autism Show Promise
March 19, 2014
Scientists at UNC’s Frank Porter Child Development Institute recommend new strategies for educating high school students with autism under the Common Core curriculum, leading to “more successful outcomes after high school.” For more information, read the full press release....
Autism training for law enforcement in NJ often leads to better outcomes, expert says
March 18, 2014
One statistic indicates that one in every 49 children in New Jersey has an autism spectrum diagnosis. This poses a number of challenges for law enforcement personnel, many of whom are being trained on how to interact with individuals with autism for the first time this week. For more information,...
Video Games Offer Hope for Autistic Children
March 14, 2014
Some schools and centers are embracing video games as a vehicle for teaching social and communication skills to some children with autism. Some of the new systems, such as the XBox Kinect from Microsoft, allow students to project themselves into games and “interact” with other students in the same space...
Proposal mandating insurance coverage of autism takes shape in Kansas
March 11, 2014
Kansas is one of 17 states that does not mandate private insurance companies to cover costs associated with Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which is a heavily researched and evidence-based autism intervention. New proposed legislation in their state Senate is looking to change that. Read the full story by Brad Cooper...
Digital assessments evolve for students with autism
March 11, 2014
New technologies (tablets, apps, etc.) are changing the way that students with autism are taking tests and showing their abilities. Read the full story by Michelle R. Davis at Education Week....
New Defense Bill Is Bad News for Autism Families
February 11, 2014
President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 into law on December 26, 2013. While the bill authorizes new funding for a variety of Department of Defense expenditures, an important amendment that would have improved TRICARE funding for applied behavior analysis (ABA) treatment was dropped from...
Autism Plugged In Hosts Online Music Festival to Benefit OAR
January 29, 2014
On February 5th and 6th, join the party on Mixify.com and help raise money for the Organization for Autism Research. The Bass for Autism festival features over 20 EDM artists, including Dodge and Fuski, Spag Heddy, SubVibe, Barely Alive, Panda Eyes, and more. Proceeds will go directly to OAR. To learn...
OAR Is Accepting Applications For Its Graduate Student Grant Program
January 15, 2014
OAR invites research proposals for its 11th annual Graduate Student Grants Program. OAR seeks proposals from researchers conducting studies that will benefit individuals and families living with autism today. Proposals will be accepted through February 14th. Interested Master’s students and Doctoral candidates can find more information on the Grad Grants...
